How to endure the economy...

[B_lrgeggs]

Let's update this old chestnut...

These are the times that try people's (oh screw political correctness) men's souls....

In all seriousness, I just wanted to start a thread for those of us who are feeling the pinch of the economy going down. There are those who felt it a while back..and there are others who are just begiining to feel it. I was recently laid off...and while I think there might be a point when I will be rehired. It's good to know there is a place out there to exchange ideas
and at least offer an ear.

 

[NCbear]

Recently laid off here as well, and for the same reason: budget cuts.

Seven opportunities are out there, four that are current positions. One's within a block and a half of my house. (!!) Another is in a prime area in NC, and a third is near DC. A fourth is at the beach in NC. (Woo hoo!)

So I'm rapidly sending out job application documents.

NCbear (who wonders what others are doing)

 

[B_lrgeggs]

Not very many responses. Either most people here have not been effected. Find the question too personal. Or use this website as an escape and this question might be hitting a particular button..and the other reason...the question is just not interesting enough....oh well.

 

[nudeyorker]

Not very many responses. Either most people here have not been effected. Find the question too personal. Or use this website as an escape and this question might be hitting a particular button..and the other reason...the question is just not interesting enough....oh well.

I think there many reasons really. I did not respond to this thread at first glance because I have not been adversely effected by the economy this time around, if anything I'm doing better than I would have expected and think it's somewhat crass to go into the details when so many people are struggling.
As for other peoples reasons I can't be sure but maybe you are correct in assuming that people use this site as an escape from reality for a few minutes a day I can't say for sure.
But I'm am very sorry for your (and everyone else's) circumstances right now and hope that the tide soon shifts in your favor

 

[witch]

fixed income ... every penny counts .... thank the stars sunsets are free

 

[B_lrgeggs]

I think there many reasons really. I did not respond to this thread at first glance because I have not been adversely effected by the economy this time around, if anything I'm doing better than I would have expected and think it's somewhat crass to go into the details when so many people are struggling.
As for other peoples reasons I can't be sure but maybe you are correct in assuming that people use this site as an escape from reality for a few minutes a day I can't say for sure.
But I'm am very sorry for your (and everyone else's) circumstances right now and hope that the tide soon shifts in your favor

With all due respect, if someone has found a way to thrive in this economy, I think it would be very beneficial to others as to how they might be able to help themselves.

 

[B_Marius567]

With all due respect, if someone has found a way to thrive in this economy, I think it would be very beneficial to others as to how they might be able to help themselves.

I use to make 400.00 a week last year now I make over 600.00 a week after tax from all the over time with no sign it will end any time soon. a year ago i had only $26.000 now I have $36.000 in the bank.

maybe you should be a machinist.

 

[nudeyorker]

With all due respect, if someone has found a way to thrive in this economy, I think it would be very beneficial to others as to how they might be able to help themselves.

I wish it was as easy as the recipes I sometimes share here but it's not. I decided a couple of years ago that I was sick of doing what I'd been doing almost my entire adult life and decided to take a chance on a new dream.
So it's equal parts blood, sweat and tears, a dash of luck and a pinch of magic.

 

[Bbucko]

I wish it was as easy as the recipes I sometimes share here but it's not. I decided a couple of years ago that I was sick of doing what I'd been doing almost my entire adult life and decided to take a chance on a new dream.
So it's equal parts blood, sweat and tears, a dash of luck and a pinch of magic.

I guess I can list a dash of luck, but magic had nothing to do with the rather brutal downward mobility I experienced after having been laid off following a store closure in 2005. Blood, sweat and tears, were however, much in evidence.

In my specific case, it was a change in location that dictated my choices: I realized too late that all the years I'd spent specializing in my career in the northeast would render me virtually unemployable in SoFla. So I started from scratch.

Scratch in my case involved simplifying my life to a level I hadn't experienced in 25 years, shedding possessions, a toxic relationship and virtually all of my expectations of what I should be doing as an adult. In the end, I found work in a bar, and manage to pay the few bills I have left.

I have two chances for day jobs awaiting grant money to fund them (in what could end up being a second career), but for the time being, my advice is to simplify, shed the anchors weighing you down and be prepared to do whatever (and I do mean whatever) is required to keep yourself above water.

If, in my salad days designing custom solid hardwood furniture nine years ago you'd have told me what the future held in store, I'd have laughed in your face. Now, instead, I try and find humor where I can find it. It helps keep me from self-pity or an overdose of the inevitably ensuing self-abuse.

Survival is not for pussies.

 

[Sharpone]

I've been laid off for a year and three months and so have others in my neighborhood. One neighbor has just ran out of money and stopped paying her mortgage. She's been out of work for four years prob because she is in her early 60's. Fortunately I still have a little left and so do my other next door neighbors who have been unemployed over a year. We are all hanging on due to the unemployment extensions. Without them it would have been a disaster! Being in school has also given me a purpose during this time and has kept me from going over the edge.

It is funny that (or not so) that those that live next to me vote republican if you can believe that. If it were up to the republicans, the extensions would be eliminated immediately. They are close to being 99ers and still vote against themselves every November.

The other strange thing is I know of at least two people that have gotten promotions in the past year. One friend jumped 20 grand a year. I think that is why people have not been protesting in the streets. Only 20% or so of us in this country have been effected...perhaps when it hits more people (and it will) then we will do what we need to do to reduce the division of wealth and pay discrepancies.

 

[B_Marius567]

I will keep my truck as long as I can to save money. why spend 380.00 a month on a new car when I can use the money.

 

[midlifebear]

This second Great Depression hasn't affected me . . . yet. Although there is one particular doom and gloom thread in the political section where the main contributor assures me I'm going to be poor and hungry any minute now, because my primary income is in Euros. But I was economizing long before the Great Wall Street Swindle. I'm primarily vegetarian, enjoy cooking, and all those expensive foods sold in upscale Catalunyan restaurants cost practically nothing when you buy the few vegetables you regularly need (tomatoes) and trade for others with your neighbors. We have a lovely vegetable garden and buy rice, lentils, garbanzos, and various beans by the 10 - 20 kilo bags. And even if you live in Alaska, there is never a reason to buy garlic, green onions, or salad greens. The olive oil can be a bit expensive at times. But if I were in the States and unemployed I'm sure beans and hotdogs would be a regular for dinner.

And if you have a mean need for something sweet, buy apples in bulk and invite friends over to have apple pie baking contests. Several neighbors present us with large containers of dried fruit at various times of the year. Dried prunes, cherries, apricots and pears kept soaked in Gran Marnier (or just cheap brandy) keep forever as a compote and costs practically nothing to keep around for an ad hoc dessert. Same stuff in a restaurant will set you back about 20 Euros.

But the BIGGEST lesson I ever learned from parents and grand parents who went through the last Great Depression was to become mortgage free as soon as possible. There's no better way to give yourself a raise, especially if there's a chance you're going to be unemployed for a long time.

 

[vince]

Started a second business in September '08 that caters to the uber wealthy. It seemed insane at the time, but it was part of a change I had set in motion the year before when the recession started in the USA. But it was a smart move, because the lower end of the market for what we produce absolutely dried up almost overnight. The bankers and financiers all ran for cover. Luckily, oil sheiks and Russians are still pumping dollars out holes in the ground. I have never in my life been so busy.

To avoid overtime hours, this month we have hired 17 new craftsmen and added a second shift this week. It was either that or buy a larger building, which will still need to happen next year.

The team could use some of that slow down. :redface:

 

[simbasa12]

The family business has taken a massive downturn. I am making less than half of what I was 2 years ago after taking a couple of paycuts to help keep things going. Still have alot of debt that I can't pay off now...only paying interest and that cuts deep into my monthly wage.

The good thing about this is that it makes you take a look at what excess you can trim in all aspects your life to save money, time, relations, etc. It's an enema of your life and it needs to be done at times to keep the pipes clean and running.

As mentioned in the post above mine, there are those who have big money and are spending it. Let's not forget the jobs rich people can create for the rest of us. I know there are some construction workers in my area, among others, who are very grateful for the steady jobs that these filthy rich folks have given them lately.